Integrated River Basin Governance - Learning from International Experience is designed to help practitioners implement integrated approaches to river basin management (IRBM). It aims to help the coming generation of senior university students learn how to design IRBM and it provides current researchers and the broader water community with a resource on river basin management. Drawing on both past and present river basin and valley scale catchment management examples from around the world, the book develops an integration framework for river basin management. Grounded in the theory and literature of natural resources management and planning, the thrust of the book is to assist policy and planning, rather than extend knowledge of hydrology, biophysical modelling or aquatic ecology. Providing a classification of river basin organizations and their use, the book also covers fundamental issues related to implementation: decision-making. institutions and organizations. information management. participation and awareness. legal and economic issues. integration and coordination processes. building human capacity. Integrated River Basin Governance focuses on the social, economic, organizational and institutional arrangements of river basin management. Methods are outlined for implementing strategic and regional approaches to river basin management, noting the importance of context and other key elements which have been shown to impede success. The book includes a range of tools for river basin governance methods, derived from real life experiences in both developed and developing countries. The successes and failures of river basin management are discussed, and lessons learned from both are presented. The ebook for this title is available to download for free on the WaterWiki.

This unique book brings together 27 chapters from some of the world's leading practitioners and experts on environmental water, communities, law, economics and governance. Its goal is to understand the many dimensions of water in the Murray-Darling Basin and provide guidance about how to implement a water management plan that addresses the needs of communities, the economy and the environment. The comprehensiveness of topics covered, the expertise of its authors, and the absolute need to take a multidisciplinary approach to resolving the "wicked problem" of governing our scarce water resource makes this volume a must read for all who care about Australian communities and the environment.

Establishing multi-scale optimal water allocation modes which takes the enhancement of utilization efficiency as core is a research hotspot for the international water resources management of river basins. This book aims to introduce how to compile the first set of county-level IO tables involving resources and environment accounts with integrated datasets which contains the spatio-temporal data of water and land resources, ecology and social economy in the river basin and to construct an integrated Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model with resources and environment accounts embedded, which can be used to quantitatively depict the key process parameters of the water-ecology-social economy coupling system. Thus, this book can provide decision support for integrated river basin management, and scientific support for the sustainable development of social economy, eco-environment and water resources.

Since water sustains life, effective management of water resources demands a holistic approach, linking social and economic development with protection of natural ecosystems. The effective management links land and water resources across the whole of a catchment area or groundwater aquifer. The Workshop addressed the broader issues of water management in the context of land use and the environment and within the framework of river basin management. More specifically, the Workshop dealt with: defining land and water linkages; developing a conceptual framework to predict land, water and plant nutrient interaction; establishing a landscape and river basin approach to integrated management of natural resources; and drafting a programme of action including applied research and modelling, education, extension and manuals and field projects aimed at promoting integrated management of natural resources. This publication contains the report and recommendations of the Workshop and edited versions of eight papers which were presented and discussed in the Workshop.

Integrated river basin management is an approach focusing on the development and management of land and water resources in a coordinated manner with the primary aim to ensure society development, which is well balanced from the environmental, economic, and social points of view. It is a complex approach, including all aspects of water resource management (water and aquatic ecosystem protection, disaster management, and water use) and covering a wide range of disciplines (e.g., hydrology, ecology, environmental management, and economy), cross-cutting issues (climate change, data sharing, and stakeholder involvement), and approaches (river basin management plans preparation, water-food-energy-ecosystems nexus assessment, science-policy integration, and transboundary cooperation). This book provides a comprehensive overview of achievements and challenges associated with the implementation of the approach throughout the world.

River Basin Management is a collection of papers presented at a conference on implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive, held in Budapest in May 2005. The Water Framework Directive requires progressive protection and enhancement to rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal waters and wetlands by the year 2015. At the heart of this major new piece of legislation is the requirement for all EU member states to prepare river basin management plans for all river basin catchments, providing the basis for coordinated improvements to water management, leading to better water quality and sustainable aquatic environments in lakes and rivers. The papers cover a wide range of topics including pilot studies for the development of river basin management plans, public participation in the planning process, water quality monitoring, modeling and analysis, identifying and addressing pollution and meeting environmental objectives. The book presents an array of experience from eighteen European countries in the implementation of the EU’s most far reaching environmental legislation. It is an invaluable source of information and ideas for the widespread preparation of river basin management plans now starting throughout Europe.